Discussion

Related to gardeing: raising chickens

My dad, who lives in Los Angeles has a big yard and started a garden a number of years ago. He was rasied on a farm and one day decided to get some chickens. Besides fresh eggs, one of the perks of having chickens is fewer insects. But one of the downsides is the noise. They cliuck when they lay eggs, they cluck when they get scared and sometimes they cluck for apparently no reason at all. This afternoon my dad mentioned that he thought that capons might not cluck, or if they do, might be quieter. I don't know where he got his info from, but since I know zip about chickens, I thought I'd do a little research for him.

also found this which sounds pretty reasonable:'First they cluck no more than other hen breeds, the reason why hens cluck ,is to keep in contact with the other birds of their flock and only cluck if they are disturbed or searching for others and letting other members know where the food supply is.

I too find them amusing and find myself joining in when around them. there's an engaging account of someone getting out of the corporate world called something like "From Scratch" detailing her foray into raising chickens that was published in the last few years.

I'll have to look for it. My dad's chickens chase his cats (which is hilarious to watch) and they chase them away from the food dishes as well because they love canned cat food. Not that it's good for them, but they love it!

It's amazing how aggressive they can be. Years ago I visited a friends home for the first time. He had a "beware of rooster" sign by the gate - we just thought it was his quirky humor. We opened the gate, took about four steps and this enormous feathered hellion appears out of nowhere and went directly for our sandal-ed feet! I'm still surprised I have all of my toes...

Yeah you think that Rooster was bad (BTW chickens are intensely territorial !) you have no idea when hens do to each other. The Rooster might be nominal head of the roost, but the hens have a severe hierarchy. These are serious by definition flock birds.They (highers up or hope to be) peck and peck to death literally those hens who they see as well, competition. One can get a serious head hen who can and will decide, as no rooster makes it to head without permission,Yeah, they look so stupid and passive, they are not.